FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas announced today that FSN Southwest and KTXA Channel 21 will be the 2006 local television broadcast partners of FC Dallas. The two stations will combine to broadcast nine FC Dallas road games, beginning with the April 15 contest against Western Conference opponent Colorado Rapids live from INVESCO Field at Mile High in Denver on KTXA Channel 21 at 8:00 p.m. CT. This is the second consecutive season that FSN Southwest is broadcasting FCD games and it is the first time that games will be shown on KTXA Channel 21.
In total, local FC Dallas fans will be able to view 12 of 16 road games on television, with ESPN2 broadcasting the return game of the Brimstone Cup against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, July 15, and the MLS DirectKick package carrying the two road games against in-state rival Houston Dynamo on May 6 and August 12.
Brad Sham returns for his ninth season as the play-by-play voice of Dallas soccer. He'll once again be teamed with former Dallas head coach Dave Dir, who is entering his third season as the color analyst. Sham, known locally as the "voice of the Dallas Cowboys", will be entering his 28th year in the radio booth for the local NFL franchise. His involvement with soccer began in the 1970's as the play-by-play voice of the Dallas Tornados of the National American Soccer League (NASL). Dir was the first-ever coach of Dallas and is the all-time leader in wins as a coach with 81 career wins.
FSN Southwest reaches more than 8.1 million cable and satellite TV homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Channel 21 is a local television station that serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
MLS Direct Kick returns for the League's 11th season and is available to fans on any of three separate outlets. Satellite TV providers DIRECTV and DISH Network, along with digital cable provider iN DEMAND Networks, will once again each present MLS regional telecasts. All FCD locally televised games will also be available on the Direct Kick package. The residential price remains at just $69 across each of the three platforms. Commercial establishments can purchase the package for a flat rate of $100. The complete Direct Kick broadcasting schedule is available at MLSnet.com.
Following the come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday, April 1, the Hoops welcome former Dallas forward Jason Kreis to Pizza Hut Park for the first time on Saturday, April 8 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Real Salt Lake dropped its opening game 3-0 to Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon.
